The Hatchlings of Hera
by SunOnLeaves
Summary: Thousands of years ago, Hera, the Queen of Olympus made a mistake that nearly caused the destruction of the gods. Now that mistake comes back to haunt our modern demigods and threaten the world in which they live in once again. Follow these heroes, both old and new, on a new quest to save the world again.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** This story takes place in between _The Blood of Olympus_ and _The Trails of Apollo_. Although this is about the quest, it is also about Annabeth and Percy healing after Tartarus, which was not at all covered in the books. I am open to suggestions and **constructive** criticism. I greatly enjoy the Percy Jackson series and the Magnus Chase series. I will try to update every other week on the weekends. I do have the entire story planned out and outlined already. So I promise I will NOT abandon this. In between those times, feel free to check out the stories written by o Mischief Managed, who is a brilliant writer or any other of the authors that I've 'favorited''. Without further ado, here is _The Hatchlings of Hera_.

 **Disclaimer:** I own only my own characters, but I wish I were clever enough to own the Percy Jackson Universe.

Chapter 1 POV Percy:

A Green Baby Wants the Sun as Its Pacifier

It was sunny one moment and pouring rain the next. The black clouds appearing without warning. Percy looked around Central Park at the shrieking couples trying to pack up their picnics and stay dry at the same time. He looked down sadly at his now soggy olive pizza and began to help Annabeth pack up their own picnic.

"This rain is freezing," Annabeth shivered as she stuffed the blanket into a bag. She was right. The rain was colder than the Alaskan air on top of a glacier, and unfortunately that knowledge came from experience.

Last year had been the most difficult year of Percy's demigod experience, and that's saying something. To start, he had been kidnapped by the queen of the gods, then his memory had been erased. He, along with a few Romans, had traveled to Alaska where they had killed a jewel encrusted giant on Hubbard Glacier. He had gained his memories back, reunited with Annabeth, then had fallen into Tartarus located in Italy where the locals didn't eat pizza. Percy was still scandalized by this fact. Romans and Greeks tried to kill each other than Reyna, the Praetor of Rome, lugged a big statue of Annabeth's mom, Athena, to Camp Half Blood, uniting the Greeks and Romans who came together to kill the Earth Mother Gaia. Yes, his life was more twisted and dangerous than the labyrinth. All Percy wanted was a short break from the mythological crazy world he lived in. Was a short date with Annabeth in Central Park for the afternoon too much to ask. Apparently.

Percy hoisted up the picnic basket and together they ran for the CVS which had an overhang. They huddled together with a few other couples in their late teens and watched as Zeus's domain give Gaia's a thorough wash-down.

As suddenly as it had come, the rain stopped and the clouds disappeared. Percy looked up in surprise. He briefly wondered if Zeus was watching a soap opera or his favorite character in _Game of Thrones_ had died, and that had been the cause of the lightning fast shower. The couples cheered, Percy and Annabeth gasped in horror. Percy looked at his girlfriend and could tell she had also seen the brief glimpse of an enormous, green baby hand grasping at the sun. " _Okay,"_ Percy thought. " _Unless Zeus has drastically changed his look, we have a very big problem."_

"What was that?" Percy asked brushing his wet hair out of his eyes. His water powers unfortunately did not extend to rain.

Annabeth squeezed bottom of her shirt and a miniature waterfall fell. "I have no idea. But whatever it is, it's not good. We'd better get to camp."

"Another date, ruined by Greek Mythology," Percy sighed as he crammed the soaked pizza box into the CVS trash can. He could honestly count the number of times he and Annabeth had had an uninterrupted date on one hand. They speed walked down the street. The streets were crowded with soaking people. There were thin sheets of ice covering the sidewalks, buildings, and streets. Percy tried to not to slip as he walked. The rain should not have been so cold, and definitely should not have left ice behind on a summer day.

He began to look for a place with a good echo. If they needed to get to Camp Half Blood, he knew just the pegasus to call. He was about to whistle for Blackjack when Annabeth, put her hand on his arm. "No, don't call him."

Percy frowned and stopped. A man in a suit behind Percy bumped into him, sending him skidding forward a few inches on the ice. "Get to the side kid. You're blocking the way." Percy ignored him and the man went around him muttering.

"Why not?" Percy asked.

Annabeth glanced at the sky nervously. "With that giant hand in the sky, I don't think flying is a good idea. We don't want to endanger Blackjack or ourselves."

As though to prove her point the sky blackened and rain began to pour down again. This time Percy turned more of his focus on the sky. A big, green, baby pinky toe descended from the clouds. More New Yorkers pushed around Percy and Annabeth, muttering angrily. They didn't seem to notice anything unusual.

"How do we get to camp then?" Percy had to speak a little louder to be heard over the rain.

Annabeth's grey eyes got a wicked gleam in them. As a flash of lightning lit up the sky, she pulled out a drachma.

A horrible flashback of three old ladies fighting with an eyeball came to him. Percy's eyes widened. "Oh no. Absolutely not. I would rather not re-see my lunch. Also, won't they remember what we did to them?" The rain hammered down harder as though hating Annabeth's plan as well.

"It's cheap and quick," Annabeth said. "There is a strange baby in the sky creating strange weather patterns. We need to get to camp before something _really_ bad happens."

The wind was starting to pick up. Hail began to fall, bouncing on the slick sidewalk. Percy spotted a Ray's Pizza. His ADHD brain, or was it just his teenage brain, began to think about how good having a pizza would be right now. They would be out of the hail, in warmth, and most importantly without mythological monsters trying to kill them. Although with their luck, the cashier would be a dracaena. That had actually happened once during a date three weeks ago.

"Percy!" Annabeth snapped.

"Alright let's get this over with." Percy watched as Annabeth threw the drachma out onto the street and shouted, "Stêthi 'Ô hárma diabolês".

The coin clattered to the ground and sank into the asphalt. He crossed his fingers. " _Please, please, let them be too busy."_

There was a horrible screech of tires. A familiar grey, junk heap of a taxi stopped in front of them, heaving noxious smoke. Percy and Annabeth coughed as the smoke swirled around them. The doors swung open with an ominous creak.

The interior of the car was just as Percy remembered, cracked and dusty with stains all over the seats. The Grey Sisters were as mangy looking as the last time he had seen them back in 7th grade when he, Annabeth, and Tyson had ridden with them. Percy had been running from authorities because he, well it was really laestrygonian giants, had destroyed yet another school. The three Grey Sisters had mop of straw-like hair with rags for clothes. Under their rags were knives and an iPhone 6? One of the sisters was gnawing on their drachma with her one mossy tooth.

Annabeth and Percy slid into the car. "Camp Half Blood please."

"Bah! More demigods? Fine! But no taking our eye! And leave that picnic stuff." The Grey Sister at the wheel said. She turned her empty eye sockets on us accusingly.

Percy wondered if they recognized them. Apparently not, since the one with the eye was staring out the window, then at her iPhone, then back at the window. The Grey Sisters all shared one eyeball and one tooth between them. This made them really terrible drivers. Percy saw the sky clearing again before he shut the taxi door. The sister in the middle banged on the dashboard with a wrinkled hand. "Get going Wasp!"

Wasp floored the gas pedal and the taxi shot forward. Percy grabbed the headrest to keep from slamming into it. Annabeth grabbed at the ceiling, making wet hand prints on it. The ice on the street made the taxi ride seem even more dangerous than the last time. They had more room in the back since there were only two of them. However, they were thrown around a lot more. Percy's knee somehow nearly got jammed in his armpit. Annabeth's hair occasionally whipping him across the face. He was suddenly very glad that he had not gotten to eat very much of his olive pizza. The car skidded sideways over the curb nearly hitting a Starbucks Coffee table. Luckily the weather had caused most of the pedestrians to seek shelter. If it had been the usual crowded road, Percy was sure at least fifty people would have been run over.

He looked at the Grey Sisters in the front. As usual, the driver didn't have the eye. The sister in the middle was still chewing on their drachma happily. The sister _with_ the eye wasn't even looking at the road. She was looking at her iPhone. She made the swipe upward motion although Percy couldn't see what she was looking at.

"Yes I got it!" The sister shrieked.

"Which one?" Asked the middle sister.

"Watch the road, Anger!" Screamed Wasp.

"Go left, Wheezy-No! The next left! Then right!" Anger said swiping up again on her iPhone. Wasp yanked the wheel left then immediately right. They ran up the side of a curb and bounced off a stop sign. The stop sign now looked like an S. Percy's knuckles were white on the headrest making deep dents in the cushioning.

"Can you see what she's doing?" Percy yelled at Annabeth. He looked over at her. She looked crazy. Her blond hair had come out of its usual ponytail and now was all over her face. The wild look in her eyes told him that maybe she was regretting calling on Grey Sisters' taxi.

"I'm not sure. But this isn't the usual road they take to camp."

Percy looked out the window. He couldn't tell what streets signs were whipping past. He hoped they weren't lost, because at this speed, they could end up in Florida without realizing it,

"I need a Gastly," Anger growled. "Go left! Watch the truck on the other side of the lane!"

The car swerved again, narrowly missed the food truck selling tacos and clipping the side of a tree. Percy felt his body slam into Annabeth's as he lost his grip on the headrest. He lunged for it again after muttering an apology. Gassy? Percy hoped Anger wasn't about to rip one. This car was already horribly uncomfortable.

"Pay attention," muttered Tempest half-heartedly nibbling on her coin.

"Your one to talk. You have sixty-three different Pokémon," There was a hint of jealously in Anger's voice. "I only have forty."

Percy took a risk by leaning forward to see if the old hags were really doing what he thought they were doing. He caught a sight of the animated character with a poke ball on Anger's iPhone screen. The Grey Sisters from Greek Mythology were playing the famous Japanese game app Pokémon _GO!_

"You've got to be kidding me." Percy groaned.

"Yeah," Annabeth said. "I think that's the biggest hail I've ever seen. I also just saw the green baby's belly button. It has fungus in it. That is so gross."

"No, I mean yes, fungus in a belly button is gross. But I was talking about the fact that Anger is playing _Pokémon GO!_!" Percy said. The storm was back and hail pounded the taxi as it screamed though Hicksville. Anger cackled with glee in between instructions. Swiping up again and again. She caught a Seaking and Zubat. Percy was grudgingly impressed with Anger's swiping abilities. He was less impressed with how she gave instructions. The taxi kept crashing into things and drove more on the sides of curbs than on the street. Percy was sure that if this wasn't a magical vehicle, this taxi would be nothing but a scrap of dented metal. Wasp turned on the defroster as the windshield became covered in sheets of ice from the hail. They were even worse at driving than the last time he was in the car when the sisters had been fighting each other over their one shared eyeball.

"Don't worry. The Grey Sisters have yet to kill anyone by accident...I think." Annabeth said still staring out the passenger window which was painted in frost. The car hit an icy patch causing Anger to miss a Pokémon.

She cursed in ancient Greek. "I missed a Raichu." Then she gasped.

"What?" Her sisters shrieked looking at her. The gesture seemed pointless to Percy as all Wasp and Tempest had were empty eye sockets.

"The egg is hatching," Anger began to cheer, which sounded like strangled hiccups to Percy.

The other sisters screamed in terror. The taxi crashed into the sides of two trees, then barreled toward a gas station. "Noooooo!" screamed Wasp. "It can't hatch now. It is too soon!"

Anger screamed too. A stream of curse words flying from her mouth as she reached across her two sisters to the steering wheel. Wasp tried to yank the wheel away from Anger but instead sent the taxi in a sharp right turn narrowly missing the station. Tempest made a grab for the iPhone before it flew into the windshield. She caught it and her expression turned hungry. "Eggs are so tasty," she said. But her expression turned sour. "But not the Hatchlings of Hera. They are-" Anger's fist came out of nowhere and punched her sister in the face.

"Be quiet or the demigods will hear. We can't give away any more information," Anger hissed to her sister.

Annabeth's head whipped toward the sister in the middle. "Hatchlings of Hera?" It was clear that she had never heard of the Hatchlings of Hera, which was rare of Annabeth. She usually knew about every single myth ever told.

"Don't you want this storm to stop?" Tempest asked sucking on the drachma, rubbing her now sore cheek. "It's so bad for business."

"Be quiet, be quiet! We cannot anger the gods now! We were just about to get a new car. One with a working radio," Wasp said angrily stomping on the gas pedal a few times. Percy felt his stomach jump up to his throat as the car lurched.

"What hatchling?" Annabeth pressed. "Is it causing this storm?"

"Nothing!" Sang Anger grabbing for the iPhone in Tempest's hand. "It's nothing. We were talking about the egg hatching in my _Pokémon GO!_ App."

Percy exchanged looks with Annabeth and they came to an agreement. If the Grey Sisters knew anything about that baby in the sky, then they had to get the information.

"Hey Tempest," Percy said while he steeled himself against the disgusting thing he was about to do. They couldn't take the eye from Anger, but they could take something else that would make the Grey Sisters talk. Tempest turned toward him. He lunged at her face. His hand came in contact with a large slimy tooth. Yanking on the tooth, he pulled it out of her mouth. Tempest screamed, more in indignation than pain. Annabeth pulled her drakon bone sword out and pointed it at Tempest to prevent her from coming in the backseat. "Now, tell me about these Hatchlings of Hera. How do they relate to these weird storms?" Annabeth demanded.

"Give me back my tooth!" Cried Tempest clutching the drachma to her chest, clearly afraid they would take that too.

"I recognize you two," Anger said finally turning her bloodshot eye onto them. "You were the ones who took our eye last time."

"Yep," Annabeth said. "And now we have your tooth. Which I will ask my wonderful boyfriend to smash if you don't start talking."

Percy took out Riptide in pen form. He didn't uncap it, fearing that two swords in a moving taxi with a distracted driver would equal a very messy accident. But he tried to look as threatening as possible.

"We can't tell you. We promised," Anger hissed shaking the iPhone at them. "We are almost at camp anyway."

"We'll give you each a drachma at the end of the car ride if you can tell us something," Annabeth bribed, taking out three more coins. They glinted in the sunlight that popped out of the fading storm.

The sisters got a greedy look on their faces. They muttered to themselves. They glanced at the sky then back at the demigods. "We can only tell you one thing." They all said in creepy unison. Smiles stretched their faces into melting wax masks. Heat started rise from the seats of taxi until the air became blistering hot. Percy held on tightly to the tooth. Sweat began to pop out on his forehead. Annabeth pressed the point of the sword harder against Tempest who ignored her. "The first monster that came out of one of the eggs nearly destroyed the gods, twice. Now his sibling desires to try its luck. Storms shall continue to burst forth as it tries to escape from the shell." The three old ladies laughed madly.

Percy shivered as the heat drained back out of the taxi. A monster that could destroy the gods nearly twice? He could think of a few monsters that could potentially kill the gods. He thought about Bessie the Sea Cow he had rescued on his quest to save Artemis. He hoped Bessie had nothing to do with it.

"We're here!" Anger said, then turned back to her iPhone, Zubat flapping on the screen ready to do a gym battle against Vulpix.

"Give us the drachmas!" Wasp demanded. Annabeth gave her the coins

"Give me my tooth!" Tempest spat. Percy gave her the tooth, which Tempest jammed back into her gums. She tried out a one-toothed smile at Anger who ignored her.

"What does the monster have to do with Hera?" Percy asked as he scooted out of the taxi.

Thunder boomed and Percy had a feeling that it was Hera not the monster in the sky.

"We told you we can only tell you one thing. Plus, we promised Her Majesty not to speak of that particular choice." Wasp caused the taxi doors to slam shut and the taxi sped away.

Rain began to pour down again. Percy looked the sky. The sun was fading behind the clouds but not before he saw blood red lips and a scaly tongue try to suck on the bright disk. A flash of lightning crashed into tongue. Percy was about to comment to Annabeth but she spoke first. The fear in her voice sent more chills up his spine. "Percy, the camp. It's completely flooded."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 POV Percy:

All that Glitters is a Golden Blanket

 **Disclaimer:** I own only my own characters, but I wish I were amazing enough to own the Percy Jackson Universe.

Percy liked water, but even this was a bit too much. Water flooded the strawberry hills, lapping at the entrances of the cabins and white-capped waves could be seen in the dining pavilion. Water ran in a thousand different little streams as though the earth was crying. As Percy and Annabeth crested the hill up to Thalia's Pine Tree he saw what looked like a drowning camp. Rain still fell heavily, but even they could see what was missing. Pelus the Dragon was missing and so was the Golden Fleece. The branch in which the fleece was usually hung had been crack off leaving a bleeding dent in the tree. Sticky yellow sap ran down the trunk mixing with the rain water. A pained look crossed Annabeth's face. Percy knew how much the tree meant to her. It was a symbol of how she had gotten to camp with Thalia and Luke. Thalia had sacrificed herself to get her and Luke to safety. Thalia's father, Zeus, had turned her into a pine tree which protected the borders of the camp. Thalia was now a Hunter of Artemis, but her tree was still special. Both the fleece and Thalia's tree protected the boundaries of the camp from monster attacks and storms. Clearly that was not the case.

"Annabeth, we'll get the fleece back and the tree will heal."

Annabeth shot him a grateful look. "Thanks Percy. Now let's go help the campers.

Campers ran and slipped as they dashed to bail water out of their cabins and barricade more from coming in. Demeter's kids were growing thick underbrush around their cabin. Katie Gardener was making huge rain forest like leaves sprout out of the roof to redirect the water as far away from their cabin as possible. The leaves seemed to work like a drainage system. Annabeth dashed over to give leaf-architecture tips to Katie, suggesting the best way to move water away from her cabin. Percy left her to it and went over to his own cabin, which amazingly, was completely dry. Water flowed around the cabin as though hitting a waterproof shield. "Thanks dad," Percy murmured and turned to help with other cabins.

The other cabins didn't look like cabins anymore. They looked like miniature failed Noah's Arks. Percy went over to the cabin with the most trouble. Their Barbie doll style house was not very stable and the wood seemed to sway in the current forming around the house. Piper, the head counselor of the Aphrodite cabin was trying her best to rally her siblings. So far she was having little success as they mostly just screamed, clutching at their ruined hair, or held Gucci shoes about their heads. Michael and Lacy were trying their best to bail water with trash cans. Percy came over to help them, using his powers to try and divert the water around their cabin. Piper saw him and gave him a thumbs up. She waded toward him. Lipsticks of all shades, socks, and sparkly hair ties drifted around them. "Good to see you. Did you see the baby in the sky?"

"Yeah, Annabeth and I got some information that may help us figure out what in Hades is going on." Together they began to wade into the Aphrodite cabin. Percy trying his best to hold back the water. The pull in his gut was starting to build as he used his powers.

"Great, but for now let's focus on trying to save camp." Piper stuffed some shirts under the windows to try to keep more water from coming in.

Percy scrambled to find a solution that did not involve using his powers to push back all the water in camp. He had gotten really good at using his water powers. Much, much better as he could now drive to the beach by himself to practice, but even this much water was too much for him to control. Too many things were happening and there was something slightly foreign about it. As though the water falling from the sky, flooding the canoe lake and creeks was not under the gods' control. The roof groaned under the weight of all the rain that had collected at the top. If they didn't find solution soon, the whole place would collapse. The Aphrodite cabin was built to look pretty, not sturdy. Piper grabbed more shirts out of the trunks. Percy had only ever been in the Aphrodite cabin once, but it still astonished him how much junk the Aphrodite kids had. There was so many clothes, jewelry, posters of the latest hot actor, and baskets of perfume and makeup. Surely there was something here that could help them. No, not something, everything. An idea worthy of Annabeth popped into his head. If he could push all the water into a new current that ran in front, and down alongside the house in a 45-degree angle, then they could save the cabin. They would need get all this stuff together to form a barrier. He motioned Piper over and described his plan.

Piper turned to her siblings still running around with shoes over their heads. "Alright people. Grab the biggest, heaviest stuff you own. We need to make a barrier to save our cabin."

Her siblings stopped and stared at her in horror. "Our stuff?" Valentina said as though she had misheard.

"Of course how else are we going make a barrier?" Piper said grabbing a framed picture of her father, Tristan McLean posing as a Spartan warrior and tossed it toward the door. It fell with a heavy thud. "It's the only way to keep the water away from us and keep our cabin from completely flooding." Water started to creep up the steps of the cabin. Pressure started to build up in Percy's stomach to an almost painful level. Soon he would lose control and water would start to flood the rooms.

Lucy ditched her trash can and began to gather up her own things to help with the barricade. She and Michael had really started to support Piper after the Giant War. Drew on the other hand had still not changed her attitude. "My stuff is not going outside to get filthy. You may not care, McLean, but I have standards."

Piper narrowed her eyes. Since Percy had Annabeth to compare her to, he usually though Piper didn't look very scary. But the look in Piper's multicolored eyes now would have made Athena pause for a second. Drew shrunk back slightly. When Piper spoke, there was no trace of malice, but a sickeningly cheerful tone that was much creeper. "Then Drew, darling, you and everyone else will be sleep outside, because this cabin will collapse if you don't help. The water will flood the cabin and all your stuff will get wet anyway, and then I will personally down you in the creek."

Drew pulled a face then started getting out her chest of clothes out. Piper turned to the rest of her siblings. "Let's get going. The barricade won't make itself."

A girl Percy didn't recognize with hair and skin so pale she looked like a Luna Lovegood, muttered a prayer and pointed at her clothes which instantly became six times larger and inlaid with heavy stones.

"Brilliant idea Hanna! That will really add to the weight of the barricade. Everyone, make your clothes bigger and heavier. Let's show everyone how powerful the children of Aphrodite are with clothes," Piper shouted excitedly.

The barrier was coming out really well. Surprisingly the Aphrodite kids were good at working together when threatened with the idea of sleeping outdoors. Water lapped at the barrier and some of it got through, but most of it was diverted around the cabin. Piper looked at him impressed. Percy shrugged. He guessed Annabeth was rubbing off on him. As much as he dozed off during one of her lectures, some of her facts and strategical analysis had stuck with him. Percy turned to see who else needed his help when he spotted Chiron galloping over to him. His pelt was soaking and there was an air of weariness that he had seen during the wars.

"Percy, it's good to see you. Follow me if you please." Percy hurried after the centaur. His feet slipped a little in the mud. This was the longest storm the baby had created so far. His shoe was so caked in mud and soaked through, he feared he may have to throw them away. As they went Chiron updated him on the camp. Apparently the storms have been appearing within the borders since last week. Never as much as this but still a cause for concern. Usually not even weather was allowed in without permission from the camp director.

"Where is Mr. D?"

"He and Hermes have been sent to aid Apollo on his trip across the sky. Strange monsters and wind spirits have been attacking him."

"Like the green baby?" Percy asked, they had entered the forest.

Chiron sighed, "Yes, about that. Neither I nor Dionysus knows what that is. Dionysus has asked his father Zeus, but he has refused to speak on that matter.

Percy opened his mouth to something about that matter, when a figure hurtled out of the air and shoved him backwards. As he fell backwards into the swollen creek he caught sight of a buff girl with messy brown hair. She was holding her electric spear Maimer 2.0, or Laimer x2, as the campers call it behind her back. A scowl etched her face, but since she didn't try to impale him he figured she was secretly happy to see him.

Percy got up and realized that he was completely dry. The creek water was still under the gods control. However, he was starting to get wet again as the rain continued to come down. The tree offered some relief, but the they were swaying dangerously as the wind blew and the water loosened the earth. "What's up Clarisse?" He said cheerfully.

"Jackson, it's about time you got your butt down here. Where have you been this past week?"

"Trying to live a normal life."

Clarisse snorted. "Good luck with that Son of the Sea God." She turned to Chiron, "Have you updated him yet?"

Chiron shook his head, "Not fully. Why don't you show him the way and I'll meet you at the Big House when you are done?"

"If he can get it done," Clarisse said angrily. "We've tried almost everything."

"You'll figure something out. In the meantime, I need to check on Rachel." Chiron galloped away.

"What's happened to Rachel?" Percy asked as Clarisse started marching down the path alongside the creek.

Clarisse grimaced. "She was attacked four nights ago. Nobody saw who or what did it. She is still recovering. But you'll see her soon enough. She is stationed at the Big House. Apollo has been to see her but he was unable to do anything. Apollo and the Apollo cabin have been even more useless than usual. Somehow their powers have been weakened. Not that a bow and arrow have ever been real weapons." She hefted her spear proudly.

"Right...so why are we in theses woods?"

"You must have seen it as you came up the hill. The Golden Fleece isn't with Peleus."

"It's lost?!"

Clarisse pointed to a familiar looking clearing. It was the same clearing where he had broken Clarisse's first spear back when he first been to camp. The place where he had been claimed as Poseidon's son. "This is where are broke your spear, " Percy said without thinking.

Clarisse's scowl deepened and she jabbed at Percy with her spear. He dodged easily. "Watch it Jackson. I hear people can still live without a kidney."

Percy grinned. "Alright, so what are we doing here if not to relive fond memories?"

"Look over there, stupid." She pointed to a spot in the creek that was way deeper than he remembered. It was as though a pit had been put in the middle of the creek and then a couple of whirlpools placed around the pit. Wires, shovels, string, fishing hooks, and even a few broken construction cranes were on the banks of the creek or in the whirlpools. Percy was pretty sure the naiads were not going to be happy about all that litter.

"What's all that for?"

Percy saw Clarisse roll her eyes as if she couldn't believe how slow he was. "The Fleece is in there. We've been trying to get it out of the pit of days. The pit isn't very deep, but every time we go near it the whirlpools sweep everything away. We nearly lost Malcolm and Kayla in them. Luckily they are good swimmers and the naiads were able to help pull them to shore."

"Wait how long has it been raining?"

"Four days. Ever since that stupid brat in the sky spat at the Thalia's tree and snapped off the branch holding the fleece."

Percy stared at her. "Spat?

"Yeah, it's spit is like acid. But it must take a lot of work to make because the rest of the tree was fine and the baby hasn't spit since."

"So I guess you've brought me here to get the fleece for you?" Percy looked at the filthy swirling water. He had swum in worse. The River Styx had been boiling and filled with the broken dreams of dead mortals. The River Cocytus had been filled with the tortured souls of the damned. However, he had no desire to swim in another swirling garbage patch.

Clarisse grinned at him. All of her teeth glittering in the gloom like a shark's. "Have fun Kelp Head."

"So why are you here? I'm guessing you're not to help me." Percy had a sneaking suspicion that she was only there to watch him get gutted by half a dozen fishing hooks.

"The TV in the Ares Cabin is full of water. This is the next best thing. Now get going." Clarisse looked way too pleased with this arrangement for Percy's liking.

"Once again used for someone's amusement," Percy grumbled. He walked carefully to the edge of the swollen creek. He peered down at the rushing water. He could feel the conflict in the water, one side fighting for the protection of the camp, the other for its destruction. It made his skin itch uncomfortably. "Father, protect me," Percy prayed and jumped into the creek.

If feeling the conflict from land was uncomfortable, it was nothing like being in the conflict. The waters raged around him in confusing currents. It took nearly all of his mental strength to keep dry. Usually when he was in his father's element he could stay dry without thinking about it. Not this time. His gut started to tighten again, as it always did when he had to draw on his powers. He scanned the murky water for the pit. It wasn't hard. The current around the pit was monstrous. Water was sucked into the pit and spat back out. The currents licked around edge of the pit, smashing against one another. There were also the most dangerous objects around the pit. Swords, spears, hooks, parts of heavy machinery were either floating in the water or embedded in the creek bottom or stuck out of the edges of the pit. Percy swam carefully, trying his best not to get impaled. The closer he got to the pit, the harder it became to move. Suddenly the water began to push against him trying to force him away. He put his hands out in front of him and imagined the water was curtain he just had to part. The creek obeyed, the currents changed to flow around him. As he approached the pit he could see that it was narrow, only about six feet across. Percy uncapped Riptide. A bronze glow filled the murky water as Riptide expanded from a pen to a large bronze sword. Holding the sword out in front of him he dove into the pit.

It was unnaturally dark in the pit. Only the bronze glow of his sword illuminated the way. He saw bits of wood stuck to the sides of the pit. Glass and other sharp objects poked out toward him as he swam down. About ten feet down the Golden Fleece glittered, surrounded by hooks and fishing lines. Percy cut some of the debris out of the way, sinking slowing to the bottom. It was so quiet compared to the raging storm above. He could still hear the swish of the currents fighting each other over him. But the water around him was eerily calm as he inched closer to the fleece. He stretched out his hand to grab the fleece. Immediately he knew something was wrong as his hand broke through several string-like obstacles. Fishing Lines that had been drifting harmlessly around him suddenly were wrapped around his arms, legs, torso, and throat, tying him to the walls of the pit. Thin jets of water rushed to protect him, trying to shove the lines away, but there were too many. Percy lay suspended, stretched out in the water, facing the Golden fleece only inches away. The fishing lines began to cut into his skin. Percy thrashed and the lines sank deeper into him. In the dim light of his sword he could see the red circles on his skin appearing. Taking deep breaths, Percy forced himself to calm down. _Think. Think, think, think, you've been in worse situations. At least you can breathe underwater and can withstand pressure._ This was a job only he could do, anyone else would have drowned. However, if he didn't get out of here soon, the fishing lines were going to cut off his limbs. He looked at Riptide in his hand. He knew he couldn't swing the sword; his arm was still attached to the wall. If he couldn't swing the sword maybe something else could. Percy dropped his sword. Using his mind, he directed the water to push and pull the sword toward the fishing lines to cut them.

It was slow boring work, taking up too much time. As he worked, one half of his brain worked on cutting the lines, and the other half on camp. He hoped that Camp Half-Blood wasn't underwater by the time he got back. He wondered how Annabeth was doing, and if she was as hungry as he was right now.

Finally, he was done. He felt proud that he hadn't cut himself in half with his own sword. He cut through the rest of the lines around the fleece and swum up to the surface. As soon as he broke the surface the fleece began to work its magic and the waters calmed. The clouds cleared and sun began to shine. The water around Percy welcomed him, healing his cuts and bruises.

He walked over to where Clarisse stood looking worried. "Miss me?"

She scowled at him, "No. But Annabeth just came over." Judging from her tone, Percy guessed that his girlfriend hadn't come over to see how he was doing. "She told me that once you rehang the fleece, you need get to the Big House as soon as possible."

 **Reader:**

 **The Cat Boss (Guest): Thanks for your review! I wish I could do something like what you suggested, but alas I am basing this off a real Greek myth where there is a set number of eggs (hatchlings of Hera's).**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 POV Percy:

Rachel Cannot Pull off a Smokey Snake Scarf

Percy and Clarisse raced to the Big House after hanging the fleece on Thalia's Tree. The flood waters had begun to dry up, the ground solidified, and soon Camp Half-Blood looked as though the four-day storm had only been a spring shower.

The Big House however, looked like soggy bread. The storm had worn holes in the ceiling and walls, which now sagged. As Percy entered the infirmary, he saw that buckets had been placed on the floor to hold the water dripping from the roof. Annabeth ran up to him with a worried expression. "It Rachel. Chiron said she's been sick for the past four days, but this is new." She led him over to where Rachel lay unconscious. Her skin was tinted green. There was something shimmering wrapped around her body. At first it looked as though the Mist or healing magic was surrounding her, but to his horror, as he looked closer, it became apparent that a translucent snake was slowly squeezing the life out of his friend.

"What is that?" Percy demanded at an Apollo healer nearby.

The guy shrugged, "I've never seen anything like it before. That thing appeared minutes before the storm stopped. We've tried everything we could, but it's tricky. She's mortal but also hosting the Oracle. We can't give her any of the gods' food, but now a lot of the mortal healing techniques aren't working on her."

"So the monster in the sky knows we've gotten the Golden Fleece back, and now decided to attack Rachel. This monster knows way too much about us. Does Chiron know anything," Annabeth asked.

The healer shook his head, "He only told me to keep trying everything I know. I suspect he does know what this is but didn't say anything to me."

Percy thought back to what the Grey Sisters had told them. The monster had something to do with Hera. Of course it had to be the Queen of the Gods, she was always around the heart of their problems. He and Annabeth exchanged a look, and he knew that she was thinking the same thing.

"Has she woken up? Has the Oracle spoken at all?" Percy asked

The healer brightened, "Yes. It was difficult to understand because she was so very sick. And it's not quite a full prophecy, but..." He handed Percy a sheet of paper. "I need to go check on some of the other campers, call me if you see any change."

Percy and Annabeth looked at the sheet of paper. Whoever had written this had either been in a rush or had terrible handwriting. This did not mix well with dyslexia. Eventually they made out the first line:

 **A queen's revenge brings forth the tempest**

It was clear to both Percy and Annabeth who this "queen" was. They took a stab at the next few lines, which were incomplete.

 **A change in garb** \- **the fest**

 **The key to** \- **is bathed in fire.**

 **Heavenly feather dooms serpent to pyre**

 **The home of Vulcan brings struggle and strife**

 **The failure to save an unborn life.**

 **"** Why does every prophecy involve life or death?" Percy asked Annabeth.

"Occupational hazard of being a demigod."

"I was seriously hoping to have some down time," Percy complained. "Seriously, two major prophecies and now this?"

"Yep, and now let's go find Chiron, we should probably hold a council now that the rain has stopped.

Percy took one last look at Rachel, still green with a snake wrapped around her. He made a silent promise to do whatever it took to save her, then followed Annabeth out of the Big House.

It took about an hour to find all of the cabin leaders, convince them to stop repairing their cabins and go to the Big House for a meeting. Clarisse had flat out refused to come, even when Percy threaten her with bodily harm. "I don't care what you guys decide. I'm going to university soon, so no quests for me. The less I know, the better."

A lot of the campers and their cabin leaders were not present either. Many of them had just left to go back to school, if they lived out west, where schools started early August.

Finally, after everyone had filed around the ping pong table, Chiron said, "Alright." The campers instantly got quiet. "We've gotten through this storm, but I'm afraid there's more to come."

"No shock here." Travis called out then winced as Katie kicked him under the ping pong table.

Chiron pretended he didn't hear anything, "Two days ago Rachel gave us a warning. This has not been sanctioned by the gods so we have not been given the most information about it. I suspect the Oracle is not only being suppressed by the monster but also by the gods. Now Percy and Annabeth have come with more information on what the quest will encompass.

Annabeth cleared her throat and all eyes turned on her. "The Grey Sisters gave us more clues about what this is about. Hera-"

Thunder boomed and Annabeth ignored it. Percy fell a little bit more in love with her. She was getting better at ticking off the gods. "H-E-R-A, Queen of Olympus, has done something that has endangered the gods. It involves eggs?" She turned to Percy for confirmation.

"Yeah two of them. Although one of them hatched," Percy supplied

"And it caused these storms. These monsters who come from eggs, they were powerful enough to nearly destroy the gods, twice."

Everyone around the table gasped and muttered.

"Twice?"

"So powerful!"

"What are we going to do?

"Are they worse than the giants or Titans?"

"Hera tried to endanger the gods? Isn't she one of them?"

Annabeth raised her voice over the muttering, "We don't know everything but we do know that we need a quest and we need to gather a member from Camp Jupiter."

"We do?" Percy asked.

"The Oracle mentioned Hephaestus by his Roman name Vulcan. She usually doesn't speak Latin to us unless it has something to do with both camps," Annabeth said as though it were obvious.

Piper raised her hand, "So who's going on this quest?"

Immediately Austin from the Apollo cabin raised his hand. "I'll go." Everyone stared him. Although his skin was the color of coffee, Percy could tell he was starting to blush.

Percy didn't know him very well. He had fought in the Battles of Manhattan and the Labyrinth. He felt guilty he hadn't had the chance to speak with him very much. "I just mean that it makes sense that a child of Apollo has to go right? There's a serpent that gets destroyed with a feather, like a feathered arrow…" he trailed off as all the campers stared at him.

Chiron regarded him seriously. "Austin, if the serpent you are referring to is Python, then you should know that this quest will be especially dangerous to a son of Apollo."

Austin squared his shoulders. "I have to go. I just, you know, feel it. In here?" He pointed first to his heart, changed his mind and pointed to his head

Chiron sighed. "If you have chosen this mission then so be it, but now you must take the responsibility of leading it."

Austin squeaked. Clearly he had not thought this entirely though. Percy heard Annabeth mutter, "Volunteer as tribute."

"What?" Percy whispered to her.

"Nothing," Annabeth blushed.

Percy returned his attention to Chiron as he spoke, "Who will you choose to come with you? I would suggest it be someone experienced."

Most of the campers looked away. Fighting two major wars in less than two years made even the bravest demigods hesitate to take on another quest. Austin turned hopefully to Annabeth. "You were given information from Grey Sisters. Can you come?"

Annabeth hesitated. It was clear to Percy that she wanted to say no, but didn't know how. "Look, Austin. I don't think I'm the best choice. There are so many demigods here who have yet to go on a quest. I've been on more than enough for a lifetime."

"Please you are the best person for this," Austin turned on his black lab puppy face.

Annabeth hesitated and looked at Percy. Percy looked back at her and understood that she was thinking back to the last time they had both been on separate quests. Whatever she chose, he was sticking with her. She sighed and Percy knew she her answer. "Alright," she said.

"But I'm coming with." Percy chimes in immediately. Chiron opened his mouth to protest.

"I won't be on the quest officially, but I'm not leaving her." Percy said firmly. "I'll just, you know...tag along."

Nobody bought this excuse. The children of the Big Three don't tag along on quests; they make or break them. Still nobody argued. They all knew that if they said no, he would go anyway. "Very well," Chiron said. "But be careful, you have made many enemies on your last few quests."

"How many want to bet he's more unpopular than Hercules?" Travis said rattling a bag of drachmas he pulled from nobody-wants-to-know where.

"No betting," Chiron said firmly. Katie kicked Travis in the shin again. Ever since the Titan War, they always seemed to be near each other. Either to give each other a pounding or play pranks, still everyone swore they secretly liked each other. "And after this meeting Travis, you will return Dionysis' drachmas. Now, Austin, Annabeth and Percy need to get ready to go on their quest. I suggest you all contact your families as well."

"Wait," Austin said. "Where are heading first?"

Chiron raised his eyebrow. "Where would you find a child of Vulcan?"

Percy and Annabeth grinned at each other. "Well, Austin," Annabeth said. "It's time you saw Camp Jupiter.

Chiron caught up to Percy as he was just about to enter his cabin. "Percy."

Percy turned to him. "I'm going no matter what."

"I know child. As much as I don't want you to go, I know I cannot forbid it. You would ignore me anyways."

Percy smiled sheepishly.

"I want to tell you to be extra careful on this quest. I wish Austin had picked different campers. You and Annabeth have not yet healed from your wounds in that pit." Chiron's eyes were soft as Percy flinched. "You especially have not healed. Being part of a major prophecy takes a toll on a human's mind and soul, not just the body. You have been part of two major prophecies and many smaller ones, and have had no time to heal. This is dangerous. This is how heroes succumb to their fatal flaws. Although you do not have the Curse of Achilles, it still can affect you, both positively and negatively. Remember what binds you to the mortal world during this quest. Do not let anyone lose themselves."

Percy looked toward the direction of Annabeth's cabin. His mortal point, his moral compass always pointed in her direction. "Of course. I'll be as careful as I can."

Chiron nodded at him sadly. "Then I will leave you to pack your things. Good luck Percy." He cantered away kicking up mud as he went.

Percy didn't bother packing very much. Only a backpack with two changes of clothes, a water bottle, raingear, energy bars, healing supplies and money. He knew from experience that if you brought a lot of things, like a suitcase full of clothes and money, they tended to get lost, stolen, sabotaged, or blown up. After an uncomfortable talk with his mother, where he had to endure several minutes of Sally nearly crying and Paul's disapproving voice in the background, Percy lay on his bed, emotionally exhausted. He considered Chiron's words. His fatal flaw was loyalty and he had been warned by Athena that this flaw could save or destroy the world, as well as himself. He would figure it out.

There was a knock on his door and Annabeth's voice call out to him. "Come on in," he said.

Annabeth entered dressed and ready to save the world. She looked at him lying on his bed. "Hey, are you alright?"

"Oh, I don't know."

"I'm glad you're coming," She approached the bed and sat down, looking at him. He scooted over and held out his arms. She lay down beside him and he wrapped his arms around her. He held her for a moment.

"You smell nice."

"Piper offered me her lemon soap."

"That was nice of her."

"Yeah. So what's on your mind."

Percy looked into her grey eyes, which, like his, still had a glimmer of darkness from Tartarus. "I'm tired."

"Me too. But you know I have to go. I feel like this quest will complete our odyssey. We had the Titan War, the Giant War, now this prophecy feels like it will be the conclusion, whatever that means."

"I feel the same. That's why I didn't bother protesting." They lay there for a while, curled against each other. Finally, Percy said, "I talked to my mom. She and Paul are really upset I'm going on another quest."

"I get that." Percy knew that Annabeth and his mother had really gotten close during his time with Hera and Camp Jupiter.

"I feel bad," Percy admitted.

"Then I guess you'll just have to make it up to her by coming home at the end of each quest, no matter how long it takes," Annabeth said with a smile.

They lay curled around each other until Chiron and Austin could be heard calling their names. They got up, and headed out to meet them.

Austin had his saxophone in one hand and a backpack with a big patch on the front that read " **I love Austin,** **Texas** **Lake** ".

"Nice backpack," Percy said.

Austin grinned at him. "Let's get the show on the road! Um, how are we getting there? Are we like, getting a plane, boat or train, a car?"

Chiron looked at Percy. "Do you think you can do it?"

Percy nodded. "We are going to get there by water traveling."

Annabeth got an excited look on her face. "You're able to do it now? Since when?"

"Two weeks ago. Dad said I could finally take people without them drowning."

"Wait, wait. Drowning? I'm not getting my saxophone wet. Do you know what happens to instruments get wet?" Austin said clutching his saxophone tightly to his chest.

"Relax, I got training by my dad, you know, Poseidon, and my step-brother Triton. Most sea creatures can go travel between different bodies of water, as long as it is freshwater to freshwater, or saltwater to saltwater. I learned how to travel this way. It is a lot faster. I wish I knew how to do this on my first quest. Would have saved so much time. Anyway, for my seventeenth birthday present, my dad gave me an invitation to Atlantis to train for a couple of weeks. The food wasn't very good. They didn't have any cheese burgers.

"It's like Nico's shadow traveling," Annabeth interjected before Percy could complain more about the terrible food in an underwater palace.

"That thing where he like, melts into a shadow and reappears in them too," Austin asked.

"Exactly," Percy said. "Only we are dissolving in water."

"That is so cool," Austin said.

Chiron put his hand on Percy's shoulder. "You know you have to be careful. Don't over use this power or you will liquefy."

"Don't worry I got this," Percy said grinning. "Shall we go to the beach?"

When they all reached the beach Austin looked doubtfully at the water. "Take my hand. I can keep us dry." Percy said.

Austin and Annabeth each took a hand and began to walk into to the water up to their necks. It took a lot more of Percy's concentration to keep two people dry. But his two-week training program had forced him to become, as Poseidon said proudly, 'ten times more powerful better than Theseus'. "Ready? Close your eyes. Oh and I forgot. Since I usually don't carry two other people, you need to hold your breath in the beginning while I set up the coordinates."

Annabeth gave him a wary look. Austin looked panicked, "For how long?"

"29.49 seconds, so 30 seconds. Remember, whatever you do, do not breathe during those 30 seconds or the water will crush your body till it implodes."

"No thanks," Austin said. "I'll hold my breath."

"Great. Okay ready?" The two on either side of him closed their eyes and took a deep breath.

Percy pulled them down under the water. A horrible wrenching feeling manifested in his gut as he created a thin layer of air around them all. He had never tried this with two other people. It hurt a lot more than he expected. Slowly, he created the path that would take them to California. Water swirled around them then, a tsunami sized undercurrent yanked them all down into the depth of the ocean. Percy managed to gasp out a prayer to Poseidon to help them get there safely before he blacked out.

 **Note:**

 **I plan on doing a one shot on Percy learning how to water travel after this story is done.**

 **Thanks to everyone who 'followed' and 'favorited' this story.**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Pied Piper Plays a Saxophone.

Percy awoke with a California halibut slapping him repeatedly in the face with its tail. "Arg!" Percy flailed around. "What the heck?"

The halibut gave Percy what he could only guess was an apologetic smile. It was hard to read a fish's expression, they tended to have the same blank look on their face for every emotion. "Sorry Lord," the fish said mournfully. "But if you didn't wake soon, your friends will drown."

Annabeth! Austin! Percy whirled around and saw them floating, unconscious, several feet away. Bubbles trailed from their mouths showing that they were still alive. Percy breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks." He said to the fish, who nodded serenely and swam off. Percy grabbed his friends and swam to the surface.

"Is everyone alright?" Percy asked.

They both nodded, looking noxious. Percy knew how they felt. He had thrown up the first time he had successfully water traveled. Percy looked around, sensing that they were at least in the right ocean, and not in the Indian Ocean. For a second, he worried he had taken them too far off shore. He closed his eyes, and felt the currents move around him. There, he sensed land, a marina, about two miles away. Percy tried to summon a current to get them to shore but discovered he had no energy left. He could just barely keep all of them dry. "I'm sorry. We are going to have to swim to shore." Neither of them looked very happy about it, but they understood.

Swimming without his power over currents took a long time. To his mild embarrassment, both Annabeth and Austin were better swimmers than he was. However, even for them, it was very slow work. Their backpacks weighed them down. The water was cold, and although none of them were wet, both Austin and Annabeth shivered as they swam. The California sky was overcast. Percy hopped the monstrous baby wouldn't start a storm now.

He was so tired. His limbs felt like wet sand bags. Each stroke as tiring as a marathon, "Uh Percy? You okay?" Austin's worried voice sounded as though it were coming a long way off.

Percy took a while to respond, "Fine. I feel great."

"I think I feel water on my legs," Austin said.

Everything sounded muffled and it took too long for him to understand what was going on. All he wanted to do was sleep. His head went under. He was only dimly aware of Annabeth and Austin grabbing him and yelling. Their now wet clothes pressing against him. Only Annabeth's desperate voice yelling at him kept him from completely losing consciousness. He had tried for too much and now everything hurt or made him tired. He had never transported people with him and certainly not across an entire country, and definitely, not after fighting an evil whirlpool trying to get a magical fleece. It would suck if he died because of his own arrogance. He was so exhausted, he didn't notice the large dark masses gathering beneath him, lifting him up and onto their backs. Sleep had finally gripped him once again.

Percy awoke again to another sea animal abusing him. Water sprayed in his face from a small grey dolphin. A squeaky voice in his head said, "Lord, wake up. Up up up! We brought you to the shore."

Percy groaned and rolled to a seated position, finding himself on a dock. Annabeth was patting a dolphin, who was squeaking excitedly. She nodded as though she could understand her. The she-dolphin was telling Annabeth about how good her echolocation was getting and all the things she was able to find that day. A tin can, the broken hull of a ship, and a gigantic hippocampus named Rainbow, were the highlight of her discovery.

Austin was drying his saxophone which had indeed gotten wet. He blew a few notes which actually sounded pretty good to Percy. Better than Grover's musical talents anyway. Austin still didn't look pleased and shook his instrument, trying to hear if there was water sloshing around.

Percy stood and walked over to Annabeth. She started then grinned. "She's so sweet."

The dolphin sensing it had been complemented, chattered happily, "Lord, it is good to see you have awoken. Your mate is very beautiful and very nice."

Percy blushed at the word "mate", but didn't comment on it.

"I fed you some nectar while you were asleep. How do you feel?" Annabeth said pulling her hand away from the dolphin.

"A lot better. Sorry, I tried for too much."

"I'm glad you're okay. I was worried at first when you didn't wake up, but the dolphins didn't seem so."

"How long was I out?" Percy asked, looking at the sun starting to dip below the horizon. They would have to hurry to camp. Percy did not want to sleep out in the open."

"Two hours."

Percy's heart sank. He would not be able to use any of his powers till morning, possibly longer.

"Lord?" The bigger dolphin who had woken him up asked.

Percy looked at the dolphin.

"Lord Delphin sent us. He told us to give you a message, from your father."

Percy stiffened. "Delphin? My father?" Delphin was one of Poseidon's generals and god of dolphins.

"Lord Poseidon said not to water travel again for the rest of the quest or you will dissolve. You will need to travel by mortal means from here on out."

Percy had already suspected something like this, but he didn't like hearing it. "Anything else?" He asked reluctantly.

"Be careful. United States mainland is where the gods hold power."

"Uh, isn't that obvious." Austin had come up from behind them.

Annabeth looked at him then at Percy. "The gods don't send useless messages. We'll find out what Poseidon means later."

"At least its more specific than 'Brace Yourself'," Percy said half-jokingly. He turned back to the dolphin. "Thank you for taking us to shore. Give my thanks to Delphin and my father as well."

The dolphins chattered their goodbyes. Percy, Annabeth, and Austin slung their packs over their shoulders and headed up the dock. Percy munched on a peanut butter Cliff Bar, letting Annabeth take the lead.

Austin blew some experimental notes that sounded like the beginnings of taps. "So where is Camp Jupiter?"

Annabeth took a wet map out of her pack's front pocket. "I was looking at this and it seems that we have landed in Emeryville Marina, about a three hour walk to the camp.

Percy looked at the sky. It would be dark in less than an hour. He wished he had not fall unconscious twice in one day. He was beginning to understand Jason's experience with the quest a few months ago. "We'd better hurry. We want to spend as little time in the dark as possible."

They began a slow soggy jog down the marina and turned right on Alcatraz Avenue. The water in Percy's shoes made a nasty squelching sound. The demigods were all wound up and on high alert. They past beach houses and small coffee shops in silence, ears straining to hear for any monsters. The occasional cars sped down the road. People passed them on the street without giving them a second glance.

Percy felt paranoid. Everything seemed like a threat since Tartarus. The mother with her son licking a vanilla ice cream with rainbow sprinkles could be Echidna in disguise. A stray cat could turn into lion. Birds passing overhead could dive bomb them, beaks out stretched to rip their flesh from their bones. He stretched out his hand to grab Annabeth's for reassurance, but caught Austin's eye and pulled his hand back. He didn't want the kid to see weakness. Austin shrugged and looked away. They passed a Starbucks coffee shop with faded green letters over the door. Austin slowed to a stop.

"Guys. Wait for a second."

Percy turned around and saw Austin standing beside the coffee shops smashed in windows. His hand went automatically to his pen. The sky was streaked pink and light was fading fast.

"Look at this." They all gathered around the clumps of short orange-brown hair that stuck to the jagged edge of the shattered window. "I don't think this hair is human."

"Then we need to get out of here. We don't have time to deal with these creatures, mortal or monster. We can't afford to stay exposed like this." Annabeth's hands worried at her bead necklace.

They jogged a little faster. Annabeth taking out the map occasionally to check that they were going in the right direction. Every time they ran past a store they saw that its windows had been smashed in and looted. They turned on Claremont Avenue, their progress slower as they started uphill. Oak trees lined the street, growing bigger and more numerous the longer they ran. When the sky was near dark and everything turned blue, grey and black, they all took out flashlights.

Off to the front to the right, a high pitched giggle made them all screech to a stop. They stood back to back scanning the trees. Another giggle, in a different direction made them all jump. Percy took out his pen. Austin reached into the front pocket of his jeans and fished out what looked like a toothpick holder. He popped off the top and selected two toothpicks which elongated into a bow and a quiver full of arrows.

"Gift from dad." Austin said noticing their appreciating gaze.

Annabeth, whose drakon bone sword wouldn't fit into her backpack, unsheathed Damason's gift from a leather sheath made by Tyson, Percy's cyclops half-brother.

The giggles grew louder. There must be at least five monsters in the trees. Percy really hated being out numbered. He also hated being in the dark about what he was facing. But this summer he had gotten the ultimate crash course in both circumstances

They waved the flashlights around trying to catch sight of who was behind the trees. No, in the trees. An orange furred tail was illuminated by Annabeth's flashlight, dangling from halfway up the tree.

They should have made a dash for it. Now it was too late as these orange tailed creatures were surrounding them, giggling. Whenever a monster laughs, it means that the monsters are telling a joke with the hero as the literal punchline. Percy scanned for an opening with his flashlight. Yellow eyes reflected back at him from the trees. The laugher swelled until it the whole forest seemed to be laughing at the demigods.

"Who are you?" Annabeth demanded. "Show yourself."

The laughed turned into screeching. Percy uncapped his sword. The screeching turned to hissing and the trees around them shook. Dozens of figures crawled down the trees. It was hard to make out their features in the flashlight beam, and for a moment, Percy felt panic rise in his chest. This scene felt so familiar the arai in Tartarus. The most freighting experience he had ever had. He had seen Annabeth go blind and believe that he had abandoned her. She, in turn, had gotten back her sight only to see him an inch from death, surrounded by enemies, stabbed, poisoned and burned. His breathing grew more ragged. Percy clutched his sword tighter. He could not afford a panic attack.

"What are they?" Austin said in wonder as his flashlight's beam landed on a pair of the creatures now stalking toward them.

Percy had seen lot of weird mythological creatures, but these beings didn't look like the typical slimy monster. They were tall and naked except for loin cloths around their waists. Their hands and feet sported a thick growth of orange hair, and they were far larger than ordinary humans. They had long tails and sharp canines. If humans ever evolved back into apes, this is what they would look like.

Annabeth gasped, "Cercope. Thieves in Lydia who were transformed by Zeus into monkeys for tricking him. Hercules later tied them to a pole upside down for stealing his stuff. Although he released them because he thought they were funny."

"Tricks?" Screeched one of them. "It was a game. Zeus has no sense of humor. Make us laugh and we will leave you alone."

Percy was not in the mood for entertaining a bunch of monkeys. "And if we don't?" Percy challenged.

"If you don't, then we will tear you limb from limb and take your stuff," the cercope all snarled in return.

"What do you find entertaining?" Austin said quickly lowering his bow and reaching for his saxophone.

"I don't know do some cartwheels, tell some jokes," A cercope with a braid in its tail hair said. "We aren't picky."

Turns out the cercope were picky. Percy and Austin performed cartwheels while Annabeth tried to tell jokes.

"What type of bite does a vampire do in the winter?" Annabeth asked the crowd of cercope creeping toward her.

"What?" The cercope cried.

"Frostbite." This was met with stony stares. Percy privately agreed as he tumbled around the road feeling like an idiot. For all her smarts, Annabeth was not very good at jokes.

"BOOOOOH." The cercope complained whenever Annabeth made a bad joke or Austin and Percy crashed into each other. Percy's head was spinning from too many cartwheels in the dark. He was getting sick of this, but there were too many to fight. This was the best way to stall for time while they thought up a plan.

"Why did the mathematician cross the–hey!"

Percy and Austin stopped cartwheeling. Annabeth slapped a cercope's hand away as it reached for her backpack. Percy looked around for his and saw a cercope dragging it away into the forest. Percy dashed after it and uncapped Riptide. Austin followed along behind swearing that he would never do a cartwheel ever again. They tripped and stumbled in the dark following the sounds of a backpack being dragged along the ground. Austin threw out his hand to stop Percy.

"This won't work; he knows the forest better than us. He could be leading us to a lion or something." Austin whipped out his bow and arrow again, aimed, and fired twice in rapid succession. He was the true son of Apollo, for even in the dark and with a moving target, he had perfect aim. An arrow pierced Percy's backpack and nailed it to the ground. The other arrow pinning the cercope to a tree by his loin cloth. Percy looked around for Annabeth and realized that she hadn't followed them. Worry prickled at him, but he knew she could handle herself for at least a few minutes.

Percy stuck his sword underneath the cercope's chin. "Why did you target us?"

The cercope stuck its tongue out at him. Riptide bit slightly into its neck. A gash appeared. "I just came out from Tartarus a few months ago. I dealt with things far worse than you. I don't have a problem sending you there." Leaves rustled overhead as the monster pondered its options.

Percy was getting impatient. He had left Annabeth behind alone to deal dozens of monkeys. This was almost exactly like the forest in Tartarus. Only now Percy realized that he had abandoned Annabeth...for a backpack. A familiar pain stabbed at Percy. It felt like the claws of the arai or perhaps the poison of Akhlys, he wasn't sure which one. Percy ignored it. He stared down at the cercope. "Tell me now and I'll spare you, or I'll kill you and get the answer from your other monster friends."

The cercope swallowed as he stared into Percy's eyes which glittered in the light of celestial bronze. "The last revenge of Gaia and Kronos will kill you all. We were told to delay your quest, although I don't think it is necessary. It is doomed anyway. Too many broken demigods on this-"

Percy cut off the cercope's head and it exploded into dust.

Austin looked at Percy sickened. "It told us the information. You killed it."

Percy turned toward Austin who shrank back at the dark look on Percy's face. "It told us nothing. It is no great loss. The monster will be reborn in Tartarus as though we had never even fought it in a couple of years." Percy's voice sounded bitter.

"Still, even if it is a monster, you shouldn't go back on your promise." Austin said.

"And we shouldn't be in this forest. Let's go get Annabeth." Percy said sharply. The darkness of the forest pressed in on him. He felt suffocated. Percy capped Riptide and sprinted back the way they came.

When they popped out of the forest they were besieged by flying pinecones. Annabeth was in the middle of a pine cone war, pelting one pinecone after another at the monkeys. Percy and Austin joined in. Annabeth took one look at Percy and said, "We'll talk later."

Percy wondered for the millionth time if Annabeth, being a literal brain child, could read minds.

"What is going on here?" Austin said ducking as a pine cone the size of small football which flew over his head.

"They grew bored and started throwing pinecones, so I threw them back. Now we are stuck in a pine cone war. They also took my backpack and Austin's." Annabeth said chucking four pine cones at a cercope. It landed between its eyes and it shrieked in pain.

"They have my saxophone?" Austin said horrified.

As if in answer, the sound of a wounded elephant trumped. A cercope held Austin's saxophone, which gleamed in the three sets of flashlight beams. It was looking through the mouth piece.

"Oh hell no." Austin said stomping over to the cercope. "You give that here. I'll show you a noise you'll actually like."

He snatched his instrument away and put his mouth to the saxophone. "Watch this. This is true entertainment.

Surprisingly the battle stopped and everyone stopped to stare at Austin. "Spotlight me." He tossed his flashlight at Percy. Percy aimed two flashlights at Austin, as he began a slow number Percy recognized as "Autumn in New York" by Solitude. Percy had to admit that Austin had real talent. Although he couldn't get the thought of Austin's mouth touching the same mouthpiece that the cercope had put its mouth on.

As if in trance the cercope dropped their pinecones. They began to sway to the music. Some closed their eyes, looking like peaceful, harmless ugly humans with tails. Very slowly, Austin began to back into the forest. The cercopes followed swaying, waving their arms and sighing. Percy wasn't all that into jazz music, but the longer Austin played the more relaxed he felt. The trees weren't closing in on him. The stars seemed to shine a little better. In fact, he would like to lay down right here on the cold hard road, and let Austin's music lull him into a peaceful rest. The notes of the song drifted softly through the air and drifted off into the night.

Cercopes staggered into the forest after Austin who lead them like the Pied Piper away from his friends. Dazed, Percy was about to follow when Austin made eye contact with him and pointed with a free hand to his backpack. Percy shook himself, grabbed Annabeth who was also in dreamland, and grabbed Austin's backpack. It was open and the cercopes had taken most of the things inside except for duct tape, beef jerky, and animal crackers. Maybe they were offended by the notion that human food came in animal shapes, or they, like Percy, thought they tasted like sweetened cardboard. Percy took out the duct tape. He glanced at Annabeth whose grey eyes looked dark and moist. She had a pinecone shaped mark on her face where one of the cercope had gotten a lucky shot. Percy reached out to touch her shoulder. "Hey, are you okay?"

Annabeth nodded, "I'm fine. Let's go help Austin." She turned away from him. Clearly she wasn't fine, but he let it drop. They walked through the forest following the sounds of monkeys crashing through the bushes and jazz music. They kept their flashlights off. They didn't want be noticed by cercopes.

When they located Austin, they saw that he was surrounded by drowsy cercope all curled around each other. Austin had started up a new song. One that was even softer, and really made it hard for Percy to keep standing. His knees kept trying to sink to the ground. The cercopes yawned and smiled. They looked so harmless, like monkeys relaxing in the hot afternoon sun in the zoo. Some groomed their neighbors tail. Others curled around each other like cats. Annabeth held up the duct tape and together they duct taped the cercopes upside down to trees. Percy raised an eyebrow when Annabeth suggested this. But according to the myths, the only way to capture them was to tie them up, upside down. The cercope were so entranced that they didn't even notice they were being tied up. One of cercope drooled a bit on Percy as he leaned over to duct tape its feet together.

When they had tied up all the cercope, Austin stopped playing. Immediately the cercope began to struggle and scream in anger. Upside down, they tried to twist around, reaching for the sky. They wailed and cursed the demigods. Percy felt almost the same way. He wanted Austin to keep playing forever. He was about to yell at Austin, when the guy in question hit him upside the head. "Snap out of it."

Percy snapped out of it. He turned on the flashlights. He nudged Annabeth and gave her one. She shook herself and took the flashlight. "Was that enchanted music?

Austin nodded proudly. "My mother is a jazz musician. My father fell in love with her because of her music. When they were together, he blessed her and said that the child she would carry would have great musical talent. She taught me how to play all types of instruments before I even learned how to speak. She gave me this saxophone just before I came to camp. I can shoot an arrow straight, but most of my power lies in my music ability."

"You should play more often at the camp sing-alongs," Annabeth praised.

"Oh," Although Percy couldn't see it, he could tell that Austin was blushing. "Thanks, if we get through this quest in one piece, maybe I will."

"So what are we going to do with all of these monkeys?" Percy asked. "Leave them here tied up?"

"Please no." The nearest cercope facing them wailed and squirmed in his duct tape restraints. "Do not leave us here. The wolves will eat us."

Annabeth frowned, "Wolves? There are barely any in California. Why would you be worried about them?"

"Wolves. Big and fierce with silver coats. Free us and we will not harm you." The cercope sounded sincere. But Percy had had too much experience in being duped by monsters.

"I don't think so. Tell us about these wolves. Then maybe we will free you," Percy said.

"They are big and silver." A cercope said unhelpfully.

"We got that. Was anything unusual about them. Were they with any other creatures, humans perhaps?" Annabeth asked.

Percy understood. He was hoping they wouldn't run into the Hunter of Artemis. They didn't treat males very well.

"Yes. Please release us soon. They have already killed so many of us already. Have mercy. It was only a game." Tears filled the cercope's eyes.

Percy was surprised. It wasn't often that he saw a monster cry. These were not the scariest monsters he had ever faced. They were relatively harmless. Pests, but harmless. Percy wavered.

Suddenly the cercope with a nose ring at the tied to a tree with three others at the edge of the ring of tied up monster gave a cry. "I hear them! I smell them! I see–" He was cut off as a silver wolf lunged out of the darkness and ripped him from the duct tape. His strangled cry was cut off by howls. A pack of silver wolves charged into their sights. Percy, Annabeth and Austin whipped out their weapons again and waited for the wolves to attack them, after they finished with the cercope.

Monster dust exploded everywhere as the wolves' claws tore at the duct tape and teeth sank into flesh. Although they were monsters who had made a fool of them, Percy was slightly horrified as the wolves preyed on the helpless cercopes tied upside down.

When the last of the cercope had exploded, the wolves turned to look at the demigods. They all raised their weapons.

"Stop." A girl with dark skin, closely shaved black hair, and a silver Hunter of Artemis jacket came into view. She looked about ten, although Percy knew she could be several hundred years old "Do not attack. Thalia warned us you would be here." Her voice sound had a strange lilt to it, like she was from some country in Africa.

At the mention of Thalia, the lieutenant of Artemis, and a friend of both Percy and Annabeth's, they all lowered their weapons, but did not put them away.

"Follow me. I will explain. But we need to get to camp before another storm hits." The girl dashed off before any of the group could fully process her words. They all looked at each other in confusion. Then they followed the girl into the woods.

Note: Thanks to all my readers and followers. Please leave a comment if you enjoyed this. I have no way of knowing how I am doing otherwise.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Only Girls Can Have Sacred Deer Stakes

Disclaimer: You know it.

They nearly lost her several times. Pitch black all around, and a maze a roots tripping them up every other step, Percy, Annabeth and Austin stumbled after the swift hunter. As they journeyed deeper into the forest and wondered if they had accidently decided followed a monster. Wolves panted at their heels. Shafts of moonlight which had illuminated the road an hour ago could not been seen in the dense forest and now overcast sky. Lightning flashed and illuminated giant mossy teeth snarling at them from the clouds. The huntress picked up speed. The demigods, exhausted and drenched, glanced at each other occasionally. Austin's feet dragged over the ground and Percy was worried that the next time he tripped, he wouldn't get up.

Training at Camp Half-blood boosted a person's stamina, but it was impossible to prepare anyone for the constant emotional drain, which took a much greater tool than the physical exertion. Through the rain, Percy saw a ring of silver tents and outposts, the campsite for the Hunters of Artemis.

The demigods stumbled the rest of the way to the camp, and collapsed in heaps around a crackling fire. A magic, similar to the one around Camp Half-blood kept the storm from passing overhead. Percy was about to fall asleep right where he lay, when his nose told him not to. Meat was coming toward him. It was juicy and well-seasoned. His stomach rumbled. A hunter with dark sleep deprived circles under her eyes was striding across the camp, holding two plates of glorious steaks. The hunter promptly strode over to Annabeth and the hunter who had led them there. She didn't once glance over at the boys.

"Where's ours?" Austin asked, his stomach rumbling like Zeus' thunder.

Percy was trying really hard not drool and beg for some.

The hunter sniffed finally acknowledging their presence. "Allowing you into our camp is generosity enough. We were told to shelter you, not feed you." She had a thick Italian accent and looked no more than nine years old. "Even if we wanted to feed you, we could not give you this meat. These are sacred steaks."

"Uh, sacred?" Percy asked. He was trying really hard not give puppy eyes at Annabeth, and ask for a bite of hers. She had lost a lot of weight on the during the Giant War. She needed this food, but his growling stomach didn't care.

"Don't you know where we are?" The girl said patronizingly, a smirk on her face.

"Lorenza, they are our guests for now. And friends of Thalia," the older hunter said curtly.

" _Amenze_ ," the one named Lorenza complained. "Fine. This park is sacred to Artemis. This is where Artemis and some of her hunters come to heal after a battle. These stakes are from her sacred deer. Only _women_ deemed worthy by Artemis may eat this."

"You look fine. What are you healing from?" Austin said examine her like she was one of his patients.

Lorenza turned on her heel and rushed off.

"She's grieving," Annabeth said. Her face was expressionless, but her own voice caught. The quick side look at Percy told him that she was speaking from recent experience.

Amenze narrowed her eyes. "As are most of us. We have all lost someone precious to us. Be careful demigods. You maybe the heroes of Olympus, but I will throw you out if you upset anymore hunters."

Austin shrugged, then dug through his backpack to look for food. As the girls dined on steak, and the boys dined on beef jerky and strawberry pop tarts, they discussed the prophecy.

"The serpent. The most famous serpent is Python. But he has not been seen for over a thousand years. Who leads this quest?" Amenze asked.

"Me," Austin said. His mouth was mull of jerky so it sounded more like, "Muh."

Amenze wrinkled her nose at his manners. "A son of Apollo leads a quest with a serpent hiding in the shadows. This must be Python. Even Artemis admits this was an impressive enemy. Her brother defeated it only with god-like skill and power." She eyed Austin's body. A skeptical look crossed her face.

Amenze continued, "However, this unborn child of his is the most unsettling. If this child is connected to Hera, it can only mean trouble. Hera and Zeus have not been getting along very well since the war."

"But, Hera is the goddess of marriage. Her nature forbids infidelity." Annabeth said frowning, looking down at her empty plate.

"I do not know. I am not as well versed in Greek myths as I should be."

Percy frowned. He was pretty sure this girl was not as young as the eleven-year-old he saw in front of him. She spoke with too many years in her voice. But if she was older than a hundred years, she should know Greek myths pretty well. "Where are you from?"

Sadness shadowed her face. She looked into the flames. "I am not like most of the hunters. I am neither Greek, Roman, American, demigod, or spirit. I was a runaway slave, born in Nigeria. I joined the hunt in the early 18th century, knowing only of my people's gods, almighty Olodumare, Shango, who makes thunder and lightning, and Ogun of the hunt. But I was open minded and Lady Artemis embraced me as her sister."

"Wow," Percy hadn't really thought too much about other cultures gods as much as he should. He knew the Greek, Roman and Egyptian gods existed. He hoped no more existed. But it seemed every civilization had its own gods, and they all were roaming the modern world. If Ogun and Shango and all the rest of the Nigerian gods were strolling around the markets of Nigeria, he wouldn't be all that surprised.

"I will ask the other hunters if they know anything else. Artemis has given us very little information. Our only task is to heal and give you a safe place to sleep. The hunters are staying out of this one."

"Thank you, still, for everything you've done so far," Annabeth said. She looked better after the filling meal.

"I will leave you now. Get some sleep. The storm cannot touch this place. You will need to leave at sunrise." Amenze stood, took Annabeth's plate and walked off.

Percy still felt a gaping hole in his stomaching. But his tiredness outweighed his hunger. He and Annabeth pulled out blankets, still damp from the swim in the Pacific Ocean. Austin took out his saxophone and hugged it to his chest like a teddy bear. He pulled his own blanket over his head. Percy heard snoring coming from him a minute later. This kid was so fast at falling asleep. Percy turned to Annabeth who held out her arms. Percy lay down beside her and wrapped an arm around her waist. His last thought was that she smelled like pinecones and rain.

In his dream Percy saw juicy, sacred deer stakes with human legs dance around him. He tried to grab one but it just laughed and trotted back out of reach. He kept trying to grab another, chasing them around and around in dizzying circles. He only wanted a small taste, but no matter how fast he was, they were always faster.

"Come and get us," they laughed. Suddenly green mist filled the air. The stakes' playful laughter turned into a chilling hiss that made all the hairs on his dream body stand up on end. One by one the stakes disappeared and were replaced by enormous black scales. Each scale was larger than Percy. They slithered past Percy's line of vision giving him the impression of a black ocean wave that never ended. This thing was one of the biggest monsters he had ever seen. Only Typhon could compare in size. Snake laughter surrounded him, but the malice, for once, was not directed at him. This monster, probably Python, was circling something or someone else.

Austin's voice sounded from a long way off. His voice sounded hoarse but defiant. Percy tried to walk toward Austin, but every step he took brought him further away. The green mist thickened around him. He was unable to make out what Austin was saying. He walked along the wall of scales only hearing hissing. If they fought against this monster, he feared one, or all of them wouldn't make it out alive.

As the green mist swirled round him he heard a different sort of hissing sound. Percy remembered hearing this sound, and it didn't bring back good memories. He looked down, and nearly threw up. Far below him was bright orange fire. Lava bubbled and splashed up the sides of a volcano entrance. The green mist turned into noxious grey fumes.

Percy choked, and although he knew he was in a dream, he felt his lungs collapsing. He fell to his knees, but was unable to take his eyes off the lava below him. He remembered the labyrinth. How the telekinesis had laughed as they threw lava at him. He remembered how he had called the sea to help him. The sea had responded and blew up the Mount St. Helens, causing the evacuation of an entire city. He hoped that wouldn't happen on this quest. Percy squinted around to see if he located where this volcano was. It wasn't Mount St. Helens. A presence behind him made him twist around. He still couldn't stand, but he could shuffle.

"Who's there?" His only response was the bubbling of the lava below. "Did you bring me here?"

He took the silence as a confirmation. Being a demigod gave him a better sense of if someone was watching him. So he knew he wasn't talking to thin air. Well, he was talking to thin air, but he knew something was around. "Why?"

"Learn what you need to do." A woman's voice said so close to him he lurched backwards towards the opening of the volcano. That was a big mistake. Hands, shoving him back even more. Invisible bonds wrapped around him so that he was curled in a fetal position. His arms were bound to his knees which were bound to his chest.

"What? Wait! Stop how am I supposed to be learning anything from this?" He struggled and round around. His invisible attackers grabbed him and held on.

"Learn." The woman said simply.

Percy tried to roll away, but still the attackers pushed and shoved him toward the lip of the volcano. Green mist started to fill his vision again. The snakes voice filled his head. "Helping the little demigodsss on their quessst, huh. Then let'sss give our hero a little desssspair as well." The snake said gleefully. "A tasssste of what'ssss to come."

The figures pushing him solidified and there was Annabeth, Austin and another girl he didn't know, with coal black hair and brown-red eyes. Annabeth's hands shoved his shoulders. Her eyes were cold and grey, like a winter sky. She gave him one hard shove. "Bye."

"Annabeth?" Percy asked in disbelief. Then he fell. He couldn't move any of his limbs. He was frozen, falling toward the lava below him. Rage, that was not quite his own filled him. It was a wild, bloodthirsty rage rose up in him. He wanted to destroy everything, if only he could move. He wanted to flood deserts, burn rivers, blow away forests, and destroy everything gods had created.

When he hit the lava and ice cold show of water met him. Percy lurched awake. Immediately he dried off, but he was still miffed. Amenze stood over him with a bucket.

"You need to leave now. The storm has passed but I suspect it will come back soon."

"What?" Percy said the nightmare still clinging to him. He felt the rage ebb but its lingering traces disturbed him.

Amenze pursed her lips. "The hunters are ready to move and you need to be on your way. The storm has stopped, but it will be back."

Percy stumbled to a standing position. He looked around and saw that all of the hunters were packing away their silver tents. The sun was just beginning to rise. He looked at Austin who looked pale. Percy wondered what else had happened in his dream. A familiar hand touched his shoulder. Percy whirled around, reaching for Riptide.

Annabeth backed up as the pen sprang into sword form. "It's just me."

Percy stared at her in shock, then at his sword. "Sorry. Dreams, I'm still jumpy." He couldn't help feeling dream Annabeth's hand on his shoulder shoving him into a volcano.

Annabeth nodded, understanding. "Austin too. He nearly brained a hunter with his saxophone when she tried to wake him. We'll talk as walk to Camp Half Blood. It's only a few more miles."

Turns out Austin didn't want to talk about his dream very much. The only thing he said as they hiked uphill, was that the killer snake's friend was going to blow everything up. He emphasized his words with a wah wah wahhhhhh from his saxophone.

Still that was something to discuss. The snake was not alone. Percy discussed his own dream leaving out the part where Annabeth, Austin and a mysterious girl had pushed him into volcano. Annabeth frowned at the mention of a volcano. "That narrows a lot of places out. I mean we may have to go to Yellowstone, but something tells me we need to stay on the coast. I wonder who showed you the volcano? You really didn't see anything else?"

Percy shook his head.

"So what we need to find is the egg, the invisible person, and the girl with the red-brown eyes. The snake will probably come to us knowing demigod luck." Austin said.

"Sounds like a pretty standard quest to me," Percy said reaching around his backpack to grab another cliff bar.

"All the quests you've been on have had this many problems?" Austin asked in dismay.

"Yep, I blew up a bus 24 hours into the quest for the lightning bolt." Percy said. His hand moved to the trident bead on his necklace.

"Terrific," Austin said as they all trudged through a grassy clearing. Their tennis shoes were getting wet from the dew. Streams of sunlight were making their way through the trees. So far there was no sign of monsters.

No sign of monsters was usually a good thing, but Percy got the feeling that the monsters weren't around them for a reason, not because luck was on their side. Fortuna, the goddess of luck, rarely seemed to favor demigods.

As they came to the top of the hill Percy looked down. The clearing went on for some time then descended back into oak and eucalyptus trees. He closed his eyes and thought back to his time with Lupa. Although Camp Jupiter wasn't home for very long he could still feel its pull. The wolf had taught him to hone his senses for months, and Percy could feel where there was a strong mythical aura. He pointed off to the left and down. "The Caldecott Tunnel is that way."

"The Caldecott Tunnel?" Annabeth asked.

Percy remembered that when Annabeth had come to get him, she had traveled on a magic flying dragon ship named Festus. She had never seen the actual entrance into the Roman Camp.

"It's the main entrance to Camp Jupiter. We go through the maintenance entrance which is usually guarded by two of the legionaries. When I first arrived, Hazel and Frank were the ones on guard duty. I doubt they'll be there this time though. They sounded pretty busy."

Frank was busy learning how to be a praetor. Reyna had praised how quick he learned things whenever she iris messaged Chiron on their weekly updates. The only thing that seemed to annoy her was the fact that Frank was terrible at giving orders. He made every direction sound either like a question or a suggestion. It was up to Hazel and Jason to stand up for him.

As they approached the tunnel, Percy could still hear the leaves and dirt crunching underneath his sneakers. That was not good. He should have been hearing cars speeding down the road. "Take out your weapons, something's wrong."

Without questioning him, they all drew their weapons. Percy went down the hill. The hill was similar to the one he had sled down on, on a snack platter that had held poisonous Bargain Mart Cheese and Wieners. He carefully approached the tunnel. It was empty. The wind blew through the tunnel making a few leaves swirl around like ballet dancers. He held up his sword so the bronze glow would illuminate the maintenance door. Annabeth and Austin stood quietly by his side clutching their weapons.

Now Percy knew something was wrong. The maintenance door was gone. There was only the door frame left, and a grey puddle of metal. Far town the tunnel leading to camp, he could hear the sound of yells and fires crackling. They all exchanged nervous glances. "It seems Camp Half-Blood wasn't the only one that was attacked," Austin said.

"Come on," Percy said. "Whatever melted that door is now terrorizing Camp Jupiter."

Percy stepped gingerly around the puddle. He capped Riptide and sprinted down the tunnel, the others close at his heels. In a few moments, they burst out of the tunnel and saw a scene of chaos.

Note: My next post won't be until December 18th. Thanks for reading. Click the button if you have something to say.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: You know it!**

 **Sorry this is late. Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 6: Human Flame Throwers Fix Almost Everything**

Camp Half-blood had been flooded with water. Camp Jupiter was flooded with snakes. All was calm on their side of the Little Tiber River, but the river itself seethed with scales. Unfortunately the bridges had all been dimolished leaving only a pile of rocks on either side of the bank. Hundreds upon hundreds of snakes slithered, swam or flew all over Camp Jupiter. Legionnaires yelled and sliced at the creatures. The snakes weren't fighters, but Percy was sure that it would only take one lucky fang to put a legionnaire down. Some of the snakes, of course, had to be even more dangerous than the black mambas circling a standard bearer. They breathed fire or spitting acid.

"Seriously? Why do all magical creatures seem to either spit acid or breathe fire? Come on!" Austin complained. He took out his saxophone, ready to play the snakes into submission just like he did with the cercope.

Annabeth stopped him. "No point. These snakes don't have the best hearing. Also each species of snake hears, senses the vibrations, or focuses on the sound waves differently. We can't guide these creatures with music. It's too unpredictable."

"Let me try," Austin said, and before Annabeth could stop him he played the happy birthday song. Some of the red and black snakes still kept attacking; others like a yellow one with black and white stripes curled into balls in fell asleep. Unfortunately most of the snakes seemed more energized, especially the cobras hissed more definitely and stuck at an even faster speed at a daughter of Ceres.

Annabeth yanked the instrument away. "Stop. We need a plan." Austin glared at her and Annabeth returned his saxophone. "We need to find out who led this attack. There are too many snakes for us to simply kill them all."

"First we need to get across the Little Tiber. I won't be able to help this time though." Percy scowled at himself. He hated being this weak still. "I haven't gotten my powers back yet."

The hair on Percy's arms stood on end. There was a crack of lighting from the clear morning sky. Percy smiled, "But I think I have a solution. We need to find a way to get Jason's attention."

Annabeth, of course, was ready with a plan of her own. "Austin, do you have a blunt arrow?"

Austin gave her one. "But how will that help? It will give nice bruises but it won't stop the snakes. I use those for capture the flag."

Annabeth handed him the arrow back. "Good, we wouldn't want to kill Jason."

Austin looked at her warily. "You want me to shoot the Son of Jupiter when he flies in the air?"

"Just to get his attention," Annabeth said lightly. "Then he can get us over the river full of snakes."

Austin drew his bow out and nocked the arrow. He pointed it in the direction of where the lightning had come from. They waited. Thunder boomed and Jason flew up over the hordes of monsters. Austin let the arrow fly. True to his father's gifts, the arrow sailed through the arrow and hit Jason below the eye.

The blond boy spun around angrily. Percy gave a wave. Jason flew over to the Greek demigods, one hand over his eye. "Seriously, you couldn't find another way to get my attention? We already knew you were coming."

"How?" Percy asked, watching a bruise begin to form under Jason's eye.

Still scowling, "Malcolm and Chiron iris messaged us. They said you have a new prophecy. We never get a break. Is this Austin?"

Austin raised his hand, "Sup. Sorry about the eye. I can heal that."

"It's fine. You need to conserve your strength for fighting later. So why do you need me right now?" Jason asked rubbing his bruise.

"We need a way over the Little Tiber," Percy said. "I am unable to control water for at least another couple hours. Stuff happened," Percy said in answer to Jason's frown.

"No problem. We'll catch up later. So everyone just run at the river and when you get close jump and I'll have the winds push everyone over to the other shore."

They all took off running as fast as they could to the riverbank. The moment Percy's feet left the ground he could feel the wind pick him up and dump him on other side of the bank. He rolled to his feet, uncapping Riptide as he went to slice at a cobra. He decapitated it. The head rolled to where Annabeth was getting to her feet. She grabbed the head and threw it at a black mamba that was slithering toward her.

"So," Percy said as he looked over at Jason who had landed next to him. "How'd this happen?"

Jason swung his gladius at an overgrown lizard that spat blue acid. A gash appeared on its head. "Last night, a woman killed two of our legions at the entrance. She melted down the doors."

"I saw. Who is she?"

"Echidna. She summoned all these monsters and reptiles. Reyna and the first cohort have been fighting her the whole time."

Percy scowled. He remembered meeting Echidna and her chihuahua on top of the St. Louis Arch back when he was twelve. "I've met her. This is not good. Can you lead me to where Reyna is?"

Jason nodded, "Annabeth, Austin, can you go to the infirmary. They said they needed more support. Percy and I are going to help Reyna."

Annabeth nodded. "I think I remember where that is." She stole a quick kiss from Percy and dashed off in the direction of the forum.

Jason led the way, and Percy sprinted after him toward the Field of Mars. "Have you seen the thing in the sky?"

"Yeah, we got a prophecy about it. Apparently Hera has something to do with it."

Jason grimaced. He also had a really bad history with Hera, or Juno, as he knew her. His mother had abandoned him to Juno, who then sent him on dangerous quests and then in thanks, wiped his memory. "Of course it's her." He beheaded a golden flying snake.

"Apparently this monster is hatching from an egg. Do you know any Roman myths with monsters hatching from eggs?"

Jason frowned. "Reyna might." They stopped talking as a hoard of fire breathing snakes struck at them. Jason stuck out his hand and a ball of lightning formed. He threw it at the monsters. The electricity ball spun, hissing and crackling. It was almost too bright to look at as it rolled in zigzag patterns frying everything within a foot long radius. Jason grabbed Percy's hand and launched them into the sky.

Percy gasped in surprise. Having nothing but air supporting him was unnerving. He looked down at the scene of destruction. The buildings of new Rome were burning or being ripped apart. Legionnaires were outnumbered 5-1, swarmed by colorful snakes, lizards, and a few small drakons that were the size of a Subaru Forester. He could see the Little Tiber writhing with snakes. It was almost beautiful the way the sun glinted off the scales of the beasts. Blood, both hero and monster, splattered the grass and stone buildings like liquid rubies.

A disturbing feeling rose inside Percy, a flash of bloodlust. He wanted Jason to put him back on the ground, to spread carnage, to make these monsters that were destroying his second home bleed rivers of blood. He opened his mouth to tell Jason to let him down when Jason said, "Can you spot her?"

"Wah, who?" Percy shook himself.

"I just told you, we're up here to see if we can find Reyna faster," Jason sounded slightly annoyed. Beads of sweat dripped down his cheek. It must be taking a toll on him to be lifting them off the ground for so long.

"Oh, right," Percy scanned the ground looking for a purple cape. A familiar roar caught his attention. He had first heard this roar on his first quest for Zeus's lightning bolt. Percy looked toward the sound. Sure enough he spotted the chihuahua and its evil mother. Percy blinked, and the chihuahua morphed into a familiar looking creature with a viper as tail and two heads, one lion and one goat. It was the Chimera. Echidna stood by the monster's side laughing like a mad woman. Her twin serpent tails, in place of her feet, wiggled like worms. A flash of purple caught Percy's eye. Reyna was dodging the Chimera's tail. She stabbed at the Chimera's goat head. The Chimera snarled and retreated a step before blowing flames at the praetor's head. Reyna flattened herself against the ground. The flames hit a centurion's shield, which melted. The centurion dropped the shield in dismay. The first cohort was trying to get close to Reyna, but Echidna sent hoards of serpents after them. None of the centurions could get close enough to help Reyna.

Jason followed Percy's gaze and cursed. "Styx, we need to get in close. Is that the Chimera?"

"Yep, the snaketail is poisonous and the goat breathes fire."

"Of course it does," Jason sighed. "Alright, here's the plan. We are going to dive down there. You take care of Echidna, while I get to Reyna."

"Sounds good. I've wanted a rematch with the snake lady."

Jason and Percy flew towards the battle. They dropped inside the circle of space in between the two fights. Percy landed on Echidna' shoulder's. "Hey, remember me?" Percy asked, then tried to impale the top of her spine with Riptide.

Echidna dropped onto her back, wriggling on the ground to dislodge Percy. All the air whooshed out of him as the monstrous lady's weight nearly smashed his lungs. They rolled, Percy twisting to avoid Echidna's claw-like nails from digging into his eyes. From under Echidna's elbow, Percy saw Jason trying to get behind the Chimera.

The snake hissed at the newcomer. Needle sharp fangs as long as a butter knife stuck at Jason. "I'll distract the tail. Can you handle the two heads?"

"Of course, no problem," Reyna wheezed.

As Percy was trying to figure out a way to use Riptide in such a short distance, he wondered how long Reyna had been fighting. He had never heard her sound exhausted. His foot struck Echidna's throat. She rolled backwards. They both got unsteadily to their feet. Percy lunched at Echidna again slashing at her hands.

He could see how this fight, this whole battle could go on for days without either side giving up. But they didn't have days. They were supposed to be getting their fourth quest member then heading out to... somewhere. Suddenly the Chimera roared in pain. Everyone, including Echidna turned toward the sound. Protruding from the lionhead's eye was a small silver knife.

The Chimera pawed at its eye, tears of blood flowed down the lion's face. Reyna yanked the knife out, a grim smile on her face. But she was so focused on the lion's head, that she didn't notice the goat head reaching back readying a fireball.

Percy noticed, but there was nothing he could do. He tried to dodge around Echidna but she laughed. Her laughter sounded like breaking ice. Jason also saw that Reyna was too preoccupied with the lion's head but the snakehead was preventing him from helping. The two boys watched in horror as the goat head blew bright blue and orange flames straight at Reyna's head.

"No!" Percy couldn't bear watching another of his friend's die. He slashed desperately at Echidna. He could see the flames licking at her form, but something was off. Reyna didn't collapse in agony. The flames were being sucked away.

A smaller figure stood in front of Reyna. A girl with raven black hair, no older than ten with arms had her outstretched protectively. With a gulp, the last of the flames disappeared into her mouth. The whole battle froze. Staring at the little girl who had just eaten fire. The Chimera's two heads and tail all had their mouths open in shock. The goat head exchanged looks with the lion head, whose eye still dripped blood. The lion's look said, "Can you believe this?"

The goat shook its head, "Demigods these days, they keep getting upgrades."

Smoke began to rise from the girl's form. She coughed and black smoke came out. Reyna had the presence of mind to yell, "Jason! Get out of the way!"

Jason ran on one side, just as the girl screamed. The fire she had consumed poured back out of her. Fire blazed around the Chimera. The smell of burned lion, goat and extra crispy snake wafted over Percy. Nothing but monster dust and ashes were left once the flames died out again. The centurions who had witnessed the defeat of monster cheered. They banged their weapons against their shields.

Echidna howled in anger. She took a step toward Reyna and the now unconscious demigod, ignoring Percy.

Then the sky turned dark. Hail began to fall. The cheers of the legion died as a slimy green tongue dangled out of the clouds. "GHHHHAH."

Like a thousand elephants screaming, the voice that erupted from the clouds sent everyone to their knees, clutching their ears. Some of the monsters disintegrated as their delicate ears drums exploded. Percy's own ears rang. He heard his heartbeat pounding in time with the dull ringing that reverberated his skull.

"No!" Echidna hissed. "Destroy them now, why wait? Do not let you pride-"

"GAAHHHHRRRRR."

"I am your mother." Echidna screamed back.

"HAHAHAHA." The tongue wagged back and forth splaying the field drops of saliva that hissed in the cold air. Hail still fell, growing to the size small acorns. The fighting had creased. Many monsters had been slains, and the few that remained were just focused on the family spat.

"Okay, your stepmother, but Hera cares nothing for you. When you have hatched, I will care for you."

"BLLAAAHHRRR." A bloodshot eye poked out from the clouds.

"Fine," Echidna spat. "On your head, be it." The monster in the clouds retreated. The hail stopped. Citizens of New Rome cheered as snakes and drakons, and all the other monsters that had been attacking them for hours slowly disappeared or slithered away to parts unknown.

Percy barely registered their win as Echidna turned toward him with a gruesome smile. "Demigod, I commend your success so far. But your greatest success will be the world's downfall. Soon you will have wish that I had killed you on that arch the first time we met. The gods are not your allies. The Queen of Olympus's own child will destroy this world and make it anew." She came closer to Percy. So close that he could feel her snake legs coil around his ankles, keeping him in place. Her snakey breath enveloped him. "Come and join us. The gods do not care for you. They let you and your love fall into Tartarus. Now you have been sent on a doomed quest to fix another one of the gods' mistakes. How long can you keep this up?"

Percy hated the sense of understanding. Echidna was right. The gods had done nothing to prevent them from tumbling into the pit. Heck, Athena had done all but push them into the most feared place on earth. Was this how Luke felt after his failed quest at the Garden of the Hesperides? Luke? Annabeth. A tingling in the small of his back, where his Achilles Heel had once been, brought him back to his sense.

"For as long as I need to." He slashed at Echidna's throat.

Echidna laughed as she exploded into fire, like she knew what Percy had been thinking. "Poor lost little hero. We shall see." Tiny green scales and ash fell over him. He kicked dirt over them angrily, stomping on the pile, and then jumped on the remains as if that would fix all his problems.

A hand touched his shoulder. He jumped and aimed the point of Riptide at Jason's face. "Woah. Relax. It's just me."

Percy lowed his blade.

"Reyna has called for an emergency senate meeting. All the Greeks are invited. It starts in an hour after all the injured have been moved to the infirmary."

Jason turned to go, but Percy grabbed his arm. "Who's that girl, who breathed fire?" Percy had seen her before. Not in real life, but in his dreams.

Jason pursed his lips. "Enya, she's new, daughter of Vulcan. She grew attached to Reyna after she saved her from a few evil centaurs that had gotten past the guards. Other than that, I don't know anything else. I didn't even know she could do that stuff with the fire. Why do you ask?"

"She is the fourth quest member."

 **Note: Enya means fire in Irish.**

 **Please leave a comment, or click one of the two buttons below if you liked what you read. The next few chapters will be formatted differently. I am switching POVs. Just a heads-up, I will now be posting about once a month.**


End file.
